Has Steve Lansdown Been Good For Bristol City?

[Monkeh]

well you are full of hot air ,

but there has been more mastakes then things correct, but people blame him for things that are beyond his control, He puts some one in charge and trust them gives them money but if it fails you can't hold him soley responsable because he's backed him to the best of his ability,

No manager thats come to this club can claim not to have been backed and its rather easy in hindsight to call it a failure because at the time they are appointed there is a equal chance it can be a sucsess,

Now on the manager front there are two that I never agreed with and was vocal in my diagreement and that was Tinnion and Millen, ex-players who have been at the club a long time rarely make good managers they are examples of good ones but this is few and far between

But no one could of forsaw Johnson losing the plot after so many good times Coppel walking out McInnes going tits up after saving our season last year, and its easy to have a go at Lansodwn now about it because it happened (Lansdown never appointed McInnes that was Sexston) but at the time there were little to no voices against any of those 3 well johnson maybe but its the best time I every had as a city fan under him,

The man trys his best for the club and has done so many good things for the club like the new training facilities always backing a manager funding the youth team (hopefully become a level 2 acadmey in the process) trying to build us the new ground or redvloping Ashton Gate so its not a shit hole,

We could have the QPR owners who when they got promoted doubled the ticket prices or maybe the blackburn owners who have gutted the club or even Ken Bates what about Peter Risdale?

Is the man perfect no but hes a damn site better then most of the chairman in this country and probbily in the top 4 chairmen ever to be at this club

[Rob k]

Just because I am new to this forum & have strong views on SL doesn't make me gas. I have have these views for sometime. Any posts I have put on is simply trying to open people's eyes to the views I have & not once have I used offensive language toward any other user. To state that I support bristol rovers is pathetic & I have earned my right to say what the hell I want. 23 years of supporting this club, 14 years as a season ticket holder in the dolman, Countless always days. All I am asking is for people to open there eyes to what's really happening at OUR club.

I don't think your gas and whilst I strongly disagree with what your saying you certainly have the right to your opinion.

Whilst SL has made some real cock ups I think he's the right man for us at this time.

Can you tell me what the alternative to SL currently is?

[Jordan Tansley]

Jordan that is so wrong. Of course Tinnion being out of his depth was in SL's control. As Chairman we trust SL to select an appropriate manager. "Trust me on Tinnion" said SL, and we did

Yes, I alluded to that. Blame him for appointing him sure, but to blame him for failing is wrong.

That is to say that the poster Insinuates that Tinnion would have been a success had it not been for SL. That's utter drivel.

[Monkeh]

Yes, I alluded to that. Blame him for appointing him sure, but to blame him for failing is wrong.

That is to say that the poster Insinuates that Tinnion would have been a success had it not been for SL. That's utter drivel.

Indeed, how many clubs has he gone on to manage since us? Just team Bath I think,

He's now in spain running a youth acadmey like Glenn Hoddle

[TRL]

well you are full of hot air ,

but there has been more mastakes then things correct, but people blame him for things that are beyond his control, He puts some one in charge and trust them gives them money but if it fails you can't hold him soley responsable because he's backed him to the best of his ability,

No manager thats come to this club can claim not to have been backed and its rather easy in hindsight to call it a failure because at the time they are appointed there is a equal chance it can be a sucsess,

Now on the manager front there are two that I never agreed with and was vocal in my diagreement and that was Tinnion and Millen, ex-players who have been at the club a long time rarely make good managers they are examples of good ones but this is few and far between

But no one could of forsaw Johnson losing the plot after so many good times Coppel walking out McInnes going tits up after saving our season last year, and its easy to have a go at Lansodwn now about it because it happened (Lansdown never appointed McInnes that was Sexston) but at the time there were little to no voices against any of those 3 well johnson maybe but its the best time I every had as a city fan under him,

The man trys his best for the club and has done so many good things for the club like the new training facilities always backing a manager funding the youth team (hopefully become a level 2 acadmey in the process) trying to build us the new ground or redvloping Ashton Gate so its not a shit hole,

We could have the QPR owners who when they got promoted doubled the ticket prices or maybe the blackburn owners who have gutted the club or even Ken Bates what about Peter Risdale?

Is the man perfect no but hes a damn site better then most of the chairman in this country and probbily in the top 4 chairmen ever to be at this club

I only ever blamed him for 1 managerial mistake, i don't really have a problem with his magerial choices, it is all the other stuff.

Millen is his only managerial mistake... Why? Because 3 months earlierlansdown said he was not experienced enough to get the job, 2 games in, Coppell gone, all of a sudden he is experienced enough. Mr lansdown is a downright liar.

But like I said, managerial mistakes we can live with, its all the other crap we have piut up with and his change of vision for the club every year that does it for me. Wasn't long ago he was saying a new Stadium as everthing, and i won't give up until we have it. Now we are having a redevelopment by the looks of it. there are so many other back tracks and changes of stance fro the bloke it is unreal.

Sorry I just really don't get all the plaudits he gets. yes he got us promoted, but at what cost? if he was planning on racking up debt, he should have pushed on when he had the chance, not stalled. half arsed job if ever there was one. And now we are reaping the rewards.

[Natty Red]

You just blamed SL for Tinnion failing. The only thing SL was guilty of was giving him the job in the first place. That Tinman was an utterly useless manager is not in SL's control.

We sold players... Well bloody done, even United sell players when bigger clubs come calling.

You're entitled to your opinion, but your arguments are shocking. You offer nothing 'new' all facts we already knew and have already judged SL on.

We have some of the best training facilities in the land, an academy that is receiving large investments and a new or refurbished stadium on the way GUARANTEED. How is that not a change in attitude or whatever it was you said?

You have your opinion, I have mine and that is that you're a bit sad.

We are ALL. a bit more than sad right now regardless of opinions on SL. We can talk of facilities and hope of a new stadium but fact is we are in decline on the pitch and, after all the talk, the teams results is what we want to improve. It becomes a moot point really on SL. We have seemingly chucked money at the various managers but achieved nothing. No wonder we are sad. The atmosphere on match days is woeful. I hate this and rightly so

[Monkeh]

I only ever blamed him for 1 managerial mistake, i don't really have a problem with his magerial choices, it is all the other stuff.

Millen is his only managerial mistake... Why? Because 3 months earlierlansdown said he was not experienced enough to get the job, 2 games in, Coppell gone, all of a sudden he is experienced enough. Mr lansdown is a downright liar.

But like I said, managerial mistakes we can live with, its all the other crap we have piut up with and his change of vision for the club every year that does it for me. Wasn't long ago he was saying a new Stadium as everthing, and i won't give up until we have it. Now we are having a redevelopment by the looks of it. there are so many other back tracks and changes of stance fro the bloke it is unreal.

Sorry I just really don't get all the plaudits he gets. yes he got us promoted, but at what cost? if he was planning on racking up debt, he should have pushed on when he had the chance, not stalled. half arsed job if ever there was one. And now we are reaping the rewards.

aye but he's had to change the vison for the club as things beyond his control have changed,

No one at the time of the vison for Ashton Vale could forsee the delays we've had, if everything had gone to plan we would be playing there now and things could be very different we could of been like cardiff if that had came off,

FFP has also effected it as he simply can't invest the amount of money into the club that he use too, which is why he's been very clever in creating sports bristol, he could charge the rugby 10 million rent a year to play at ashton gate and as he owns both it would mean he could invest more into the football club,

We've also had to take a change with Ashton Gate due to the vale thing, all beyond his control,

as time goes on things change and you have to get use to it

[BristolBEAT]

A. Lansdown interest against his loans I am led to believe is 8%.

B. With Football Financial Fairplay next season, Lansdown will only be able to offer a cash injection for players. Not sure how much he is willing to spend of his own cash.

My only problem with Lansdown is he was reported to worth £800 million + this year with Hargreaves and Lansdown making a £94 million profit. Is this not a bottemless pit of money if you are making this profit yearly? If you had this money would you not just spend it? What is he doing just sitting on it on his island.

[Natty Red]

well you are full of hot air ,

but there has been more mastakes then things correct, but people blame him for things that are beyond his control, He puts some one in charge and trust them gives them money but if it fails you can't hold him soley responsable because he's backed him to the best of his ability,

No manager thats come to this club can claim not to have been backed and its rather easy in hindsight to call it a failure because at the time they are appointed there is a equal chance it can be a sucsess,

Now on the manager front there are two that I never agreed with and was vocal in my diagreement and that was Tinnion and Millen, ex-players who have been at the club a long time rarely make good managers they are examples of good ones but this is few and far between

But no one could of forsaw Johnson losing the plot after so many good times Coppel walking out McInnes going tits up after saving our season last year, and its easy to have a go at Lansodwn now about it because it happened (Lansdown never appointed McInnes that was Sexston) but at the time there were little to no voices against any of those 3 well johnson maybe but its the best time I every had as a city fan under him,

The man trys his best for the club and has done so many good things for the club like the new training facilities always backing a manager funding the youth team (hopefully become a level 2 acadmey in the process) trying to build us the new ground or redvloping Ashton Gate so its not a shit hole,

We could have the QPR owners who when they got promoted doubled the ticket prices or maybe the blackburn owners who have gutted the club or even Ken Bates what about Peter Risdale?

Is the man perfect no but hes a damn site better then most of the chairman in this country and probbily in the top 4 chairmen ever to be at this club

Would you have GJ back ? I just cannot help but wonder if he would be the fella to get our "bounce" back. He, IMO, is the right guy should we go down. I just don't see SoD being up for it but hope I am wrong

[TRL]

aye but he's had to change the vison for the club as things beyond his control have changed,

No one at the time of the vison for Ashton Vale could forsee the delays we've had, if everything had gone to plan we would be playing there now and things could be very different we could of been like cardiff if that had came off,

FFP has also effected it as he simply can't invest the amount of money into the club that he use too, which is why he's been very clever in creating sports bristol, he could charge the rugby 10 million rent a year to play at ashton gate and as he owns both it would mean he could invest more into the football club,

We've also had to take a change with Ashton Gate due to the vale thing, all beyond his control,

as time goes on things change and you have to get use to it

Ah but iwas within his control, but it seems although investing millions he didn't invest in people to give him the advice to get it through.

Fence it off as soon as it is bought, ensure it is checked for breakins. that would then stop people getting access. Then when you go for planning permission a year or so down the line, locals cannot claim they have been using the land for recreation up until the day the planning permission was granted, hence no TVG claim.

It is just slap dash, all this should have been looked at before he ever bought the bloody plot, and these measures put in place. But no, he chose not to. Completely in his control. His biggest ever project with City, and he screwed it up.

[BCFC_Dan]

If anyone would like to see what real mismanagement over the last 10 years would have looked like, my I direct you towards the Blue Square Premier? There you will find Wrexham, Grimsby, Luton, Cambridge, Mansfield, Stockport and Lincoln, all of whom have been in the same division as City at some point in the past 10-15 years. Some, such as Stockport, Luton and Grimsby have even been above us. Many of them have come incredibly close to closure and some, Wrexham in particular, have been gutted by asset-stripping owners only interested in profit for themselves.

So before you criticise Lansdown too much for not achieving what the likes of Swansea, Wigan and Reading have managed, please look down as well as up and see how many of our former rivals are now languishing in non-league, struggling day to day to keep the lights on in the stadium. That could just as easily be us were it not for Steve Lansdown.

[Monkeh]

A. Lansdown interest against his loans I am led to believe is 8%.

B. With Football Financial Fairplay next season, Lansdown will only be able to offer a cash injection for players. Not sure how much he is willing to spend of his own cash.

My only problem with Lansdown is he was reported to worth £800 million + this year with Hargreaves and Lansdown making a £94 million profit. Is this not a bottemless pit of money if you are making this profit yearly? If you had this money would you not just spend it? What is he doing just sitting on it on his island.

He does spend alot of it on the club who do you think covers the debts with loans? who do you think paid for the new training facilites? who do you think is paying the lions share for the new ground/redvlopment?

Would you have GJ back ? I just cannot help but wonder if he would be the fella to get our "bounce" back. He, IMO, is the right guy should we go down. I just don't see SoD being up for it but hope I am wrong

as much as I loved GJ I would have to say no, Never go back and the way he left means he never could come back, he's a top top bloke but he's in the [past we need to look to the future,

The squad has needed to be rebuilt for years and unfortintly I think we need a relegation to finally start moving forward again, we've been ruthless with the staff off the field we need to start doing that on the field, every player out of contract should not have them renewed full stop

[Monkeh]

Ah but iwas within his control, but it seems although investing millions he didn't invest in people to give him the advice to get it through.

Fence it off as soon as it is bought, ensure it is checked for breakins. that would then stop people getting access. Then when you go for planning permission a year or so down the line, locals cannot claim they have been using the land for recreation up until the day the planning permission was granted, hence no TVG claim.

It is just slap dash, all this should have been looked at before he ever bought the bloody plot, and these measures put in place. But no, he chose not to. Completely in his control. His biggest ever project with City, and he screwed it up.

yes he should of fenced it off I agree but at the time no one thought an ex dump would be considered, the fighting it was nothing to do with him it was Bristol City Council again beyond his control,

Fighting it a second time (the pending case in october) is with in his control

[Monkeh]

If anyone would like to see what real mismanagement over the last 10 years would have looked like, my I direct you towards the Blue Square Premier? There you will find Wrexham, Grimsby, Luton, Cambridge, Mansfield, Stockport and Lincoln, all of whom have been in the same division as City at some point in the past 10-15 years. Some, such as Stockport, Luton and Grimsby have even been above us. Many of them have come incredibly close to closure and some, Wrexham in particular, have been gutted by asset-stripping owners only interested in profit for themselves.

So before you criticise Lansdown too much for not achieving what the likes of Swansea, Wigan and Reading have managed, please look down as well as up and see how many of our former rivals are now languishing in non-league, struggling day to day to keep the lights on in the stadium. That could just as easily be us were it not for Steve Lansdown.

Rusden and Daimonds, macclesfield, MK Dons (when there were wimbledon) Swindon (for a time) Oldham Bradford the list goes on and on

[TRL]

If anyone would like to see what real mismanagement over the last 10 years would have looked like, my I direct you towards the Blue Square Premier? There you will find Wrexham, Grimsby, Luton, Cambridge, Mansfield, Stockport and Lincoln, all of whom have been in the same division as City at some point in the past 10-15 years. Some, such as Stockport, Luton and Grimsby have even been above us. Many of them have come incredibly close to closure and some, Wrexham in particular, have been gutted by asset-stripping owners only interested in profit for themselves.

So before you criticise Lansdown too much for not achieving what the likes of Swansea, Wigan and Reading have managed, please look down as well as up and see how many of our former rivals are now languishing in non-league, struggling day to day to keep the lights on in the stadium. That could just as easily be us were it not for Steve Lansdown.

I'm not sure the problem is we are not where Swansea, Wigan and Reading are. The problem is where we are about to end back up (probably) for the amount outlayed.

There has never been any structure in what we are trying to achieve, and that should be the vision of the self styled owner. those theam in the prem you mention, all had a playing structure and method put in place for managers to follow. We haven't we flit between different manger styles and experince we have had no sturcture of the type of players and playing style we will be playing. We go from one type of manager to another, bying players then not playing them. It has been a vicious cycle, all because the lack of structure given down from the top.

We have gone from buying Journey me, to buying player with battle, to buying plyers with a bit more experince to buying player 24 or under in the space of 4 years... what kind of structure is that. it is pathetic

[TRL]

yes he should of fenced it off I agree but at the time no one thought an ex dump would be considered, the fighting it was nothing to do with him it was Bristol City Council again beyond his control,

Fighting it a second time (the pending case in october) is with in his control

Of course people would have thought of that, no one like bloody gert things built next to them. It was a massively poor oversight. if he had got that fence up, game over.

yes from there on in, it was cock ups from the council, but it should never have got that far, if this projec was as important as SL makes/made it out ot be.

[Monkeh]

Of course people would have thought of that, no one like bloody gert things built next to them. It was a massively poor oversight. if he had got that fence up, game over.

yes from there on in, it was cock ups from the council, but it should never have got that far, if this projec was as important as SL makes/made it out ot be.

the project was to us but not to the council, hindsight my friend, The land David Lloydd is built on wasn't fenced off was on green belt and never faced the kind of problems we have faced so you could of used that as an example when planning the whole thing,

You can't blame Lansdown for the councils mistakes look at the amount of times our council have gone against our councils recomendations

[TRL]

the project was to us but not to the council, hindsight my friend, The land David Lloydd is built on wasn't fenced off was on green belt and never faced the kind of problems we have faced so you could of used that as an example when planning the whole thing,

You can't blame Lansdown for the councils mistakes look at the amount of times our council have gone against our councils recomendations

I'm sorry, Monkeh, i cannot agree, take proper advice before you buy the land (no hinsight needed here, you only have to take a look at the nimby attiutudes all over the country, let alone in our back yards). the problem just is not there, we don't have to rely on 3rd parties cocking up then, ala the council.

This one lays right at the door of the landowner.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Simple as that. Basic mistake.

[Monkeh]

I'm sorry, Monkeh, i cannot agree, take proper advice before you buy the land (no hinsight needed here, you only have to take a look at the nimby attiutudes all over the country, let alone in our back yards). the problem just is not there, we don't have to rely on 3rd parties cocking up then, ala the council.

This one lays right at the door of the landowner.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Simple as that. Basic mistake.

what if he was mis-sold the land by the council who told him that he could build on it? and Jon Lansdown as well as a silent partner are landowners not just steve so he can not be soley responcable

[TRL]

what if he was mis-sold the land by the council who told him that he could build on it? and Jon Lansdown as well as a silent partner are landowners not just steve so he can not be soley responcable

Like I said the landowner. Of course you can build on it, but likewise, someone can object to that decision. He comes from a cold hard corporate world, he should know things are not all white and fluffy, you need to dot the i's and cross the t's to make sure things get through. Who ever the silent parnter is is just as as bad.

It is sloppy Monkeh. Will he learn from it, yes. Is it too late, probably.

[ashton_fan]

This is all nonsense, again at a time when things are going badly on the pitch looking for scapegoats, SL is the last person to blame, we shouldn't be biting the hand that feeds us.

Benefactors loaning money to clubs is standard practice, the same has happened at Chelsea with Abramovitch. Fans are never happy watching a losing team but the fact remains our current spell of six seasons in the second tier has been the most successful since we exited the first division in 1980. Anyone looking at the stats will discover we spend most of our time in tier 3, where we're almost certainly heading now. I think SL's link-up with the rugby club is a way of boosting the football club's finances and helping us to comply with FFP when it applies to us, there is a definite plan for the future in place with a new or improved stadium to follow the new training ground completed this season.

People on here go on about the days of Harry Dolman and he was a great chairman but he used to get loads of stick from the fans at the time, one song calling him "the scrooge of the west country", fans always find someone to blame if things are going badly on the pitch. Since those days we've had some truly awful Chairmen, we should be eternally grateful to SL.

[WTFiGO!?!]

Not really, its CITY fans concerned about the clubs future, as lets face it, its hardly going to plan is it? if you don't ask the questions, they will never get answered! i'd love to ONLY be positive, but in reality life doesn't work like that, there is pros and cons to EVERYTHING, including Bristol City Football Club.

Oh right, well in the very unlikley chance that there would be pathetic little sad sags around, on the wind up (crazy idea, I know!), but just in case, I shall just have to drop in the occassional post about the many, varied and immeasurably larger inadequacies that our inbred neighbours face. it's akin to laying rodant deterants, if you like.

Their greater short comings have been evident throughout the majorety of the two clubs histories and I dare say, despite our recent blip (even that doesn't compare to the humiliation of having to 'compete' in the basement league for all these years) I for one can't for the life of me see any sustained shift in power.

Anyway, as it's probably academic it doesn't matter does it? no sad sags here to be offended by the truth.

Have a nice day now and COYR !!

[Red Cloud]

this has the smell of Gash (pardon the pun) all over it!

[Murraysrightplum]

Like I said the landowner. Of course you can build on it, but likewise, someone can object to that decision. He comes from a cold hard corporate world, he should know things are not all white and fluffy, you need to dot the i's and cross the t's to make sure things get through. Who ever the silent parnter is is just as as bad.

It is sloppy Monkeh. Will he learn from it, yes. Is it too late, probably.

I imagine that he did receive advice on the land but the advice given was probably that there would be no issue with building on the land as it was an old landfill site. The land being listed as a TVG I imagine wasn't even considered - it is an unprecedented case due to it's size, the fact it is a landfill and the fact that no b*gger actually uses it for recreation. Very difficult to forsee IMO

[TRL]

I imagine that he did receive advice on the land but the advice given was probably that there would be no issue with building on the land as it was an old landfill site. The land being listed as a TVG I imagine wasn't even considered - it is an unprecedented case due to it's size, the fact it is a landfill and the fact that no b*gger actually uses it for recreation. Very difficult to forsee IMO

You don't think the neighbours would be unhappy and try to block it? Sorry Even if you do not forsee TVG, you know there will be dissenters. Cover yourself. I mean, people have tried to claim beach as TVGs in the past, there is a history of silly bloody claims, don't put your plans in the hands of locals and their lawyers.

[Murraysrightplum]

You don't think the neighbours would be unhappy and try to block it? Sorry Even if you do not forsee TVG, you know there will be dissenters. Cover yourself. I mean, people have tried to claim beach as TVGs in the past, there is a history of silly bloody claims, don't put your plans in the hands of locals and their lawyers.

But the land had planning permission. The only way to block it was with a ridiculous TVG application that we all know is a load of b*llocks. They either didn't see that coming or thought it wouldn't stand a chance in court. You really think SL didn't have people advising him on this?! The council made an almighty cock up...

[Monkeh]

You don't think the neighbours would be unhappy and try to block it? Sorry Even if you do not forsee TVG, you know there will be dissenters. Cover yourself. I mean, people have tried to claim beach as TVGs in the past, there is a history of silly bloody claims, don't put your plans in the hands of locals and their lawyers.

most of the people trying to block it don't live in the area

[Peter O Hanraha-hanrahan]

Oh right, well in the very unlikley chance that there would be pathetic little sad sags around, on the wind up (crazy idea, I know!), but just in case, I shall just have to drop in the occassional post about the many, varied and immeasurably larger inadequacies that our inbred neighbours face. it's akin to laying rodant deterants, if you like.

Their greater short comings have been evident throughout the majorety of the two clubs histories and I dare say, despite our recent blip (even that doesn't compare to the humiliation of having to 'compete' in the basement league for all these years) I for one can't for the life of me see any sustained shift in power.

Anyway, as it's probably academic it doesn't matter does it? no sad sags here to be offended by the truth.

Funnily enough, this very thread has appeared on their forum, one moron even gleefully speculating that should SL read this he will probably pull out of the club.

They really are a sad little bunch of jealous d1ckheads.

As for SL in answer to the OP, I personally think we are lucky to be in a posistion where we have a very wealthy backer who cares about the club. Some of his decisions may have been questionable but I trust him more than some 'Johnny Come Lately' middle eastern billionaire who wouldn't think twice about dropping the club in the s**t as soon as they got bored.

[CumbrianRed]

In answer to the original question, YES, of course Steve Lansdown has been good for City.

People shouldn't be so paranoid about the balance sheet. SL made his money through the finance industry so he knows the most tax-efficient ways to invest in the club. He knows, a lot more than me, that debt is as important as equity in running a business. He is getting the club on to a stable footing. He has been involved for years. He doesn't dodge questions. He is happy to face fans in a bar in Wolverhampton. I trust him.

Is he ever going to ask for his millions back, knowing it would bankrupt the club? Of course not. He knew what he was getting in to and he has done it because he loves City. It's different from, for example, Chelsea; Abramovich has no history in London and could easily walk away to Monte Carlo or wherever. SL may be living in Jersey these days but he isn't going to tarnish his reputation - or his business - in Bristol, where he has so much history.

I would rather the club was a few million in debt to SL than to the Inland Revenue, or the Glazers, or Venky's, or Chainrai, or to their own stadium like Coventry.

[Murraysrightplum]

In answer to the original question, YES, of course Steve Lansdown has been good for City.

People shouldn't be so paranoid about the balance sheet. SL made his money through the finance industry so he knows the most tax-efficient ways to invest in the club. He knows, a lot more than me, that debt is as important as equity in running a business. He is getting the club on to a stable footing. He has been involved for years. He doesn't dodge questions. He is happy to face fans in a bar in Wolverhampton. I trust him.

Is he ever going to ask for his millions back, knowing it would bankrupt the club? Of course not. He knew what he was getting in to and he has done it because he loves City. It's different from, for example, Chelsea; Abramovich has no history in London and could easily walk away to Monte Carlo or wherever. SL may be living in Jersey these days but he isn't going to tarnish his reputation - or his business - in Bristol, where he has so much history.

I would rather the club was a few million in debt to SL than to the Inland Revenue, or the Glazers, or Venky's, or Chainrai, or to their own stadium like Coventry.

That's a good point. SL is investing in sport in general in Bristol and I would trust him to not ruin the club for his own financial gain. His name would be mud, not only in Bristol but in the financial world where he makes his money. I don't believe he would risk all that just for a few million in interest (which he doesn't need)